The present invention broadly relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for processing printed products or articles, such as newspapers, magazines, periodicals and the like, arriving in an imbricated formation and to a wound product package or coil which is produced according to this method.
Generally speaking, the method of the present invention comprises the steps of delivering the imbricated product formation at a winding station to at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core having a substantially horizontally disposed longitudinal or lengthwise axis and associated with the winding station. At the winding station there is then formed at least one complete wound product package by rotating the at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core about its longitudinal axis in order to wind up the imbricated formation onto the at least one hollow substantially cylindrical winding core. The winding up of the imbricated formation is undertaken such that a preselected one of the substantially flat sides of the imbricated formation face the at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core and in conjunction with at least one winding strap which is maintained under tension during the winding operation. Then there is transported away the at least one completed or finished wound product package from the winding station.
The product processing apparatus of the present invention comprises a winding station provided with at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core possessing a substantially horizontally disposed longitudinal or lengthwise axis and operatively associated with the winding station. The at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core is rotatably driven to rotate about its substantially horizontally disposed longitudinal or lengthwise axis. Conveying means are provided for conveying or infeeding the imbricated formation with one of the substantially flat sides of the printed products facing the at least one hollow substantially cylindrical winding core. At least one winding strap is connected to the at least one hollow substantially cylindrical winding core and is wound under a predeterminate tension conjointly with the imbricated formation onto the at least one hollow drivable substantially cylindrical winding core for forming at least one complete or finished wound product package or coil. Transporting means are also provided for transporting the at least one complete wound product package or coil away from the winding station.
The wound product package or coil of the present invention comprises a hollow substantially cylindrical winding core, a tensioned winding strap, a plurality of printed products wound in layers or turns upon the hollow substantially cylindrical winding core conjointly with the tensioned winding strap such that the tensioned winding strap is located between the wound layers or turns.
With the present conventional high operating speeds of rotary printing presses and the processing apparatuses which are arranged subsequent thereto, it was previously endeavored to wind up as many printed products or articles as possible onto a winding core in order not to be forced to frequently exchange a complete wound product package or coil with an empty winding core or, as the case may be, to exchange an empty winding core for a new wound product package or coil. Such prior art apparatuses are described, for example, in the Swiss Pat. No. 559,691, published Mar. 14, 1975 and the Swiss Pat. No. 642,602, published Apr. 30, 1984 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,618. In the prior art it is presently conventional to form wound product packages with a diameter greater than 2 meters. Such wound product packages or coils are naturally correspondingly heavy and are not easily manipulated or handled or easily intermediately stored.
In the aforementioned Swiss Patent No. 559,691, for example, the hollow cylindrical winding core is provided with discoidal side plates which are designed as rolling support side plates for transporting the wound product package. These side plates further serve to laterally support the printed products which are wound up. Substantial space or volume in elevation or height, depth and also in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the winding core is necessary for storing such wound product packages because of the presence of these side plates since the dimension of the wound product package and its wind-up structure in the axial direction of the winding core thereof is larger than the width of the wound-up printed articles or printed products.
The International Published Patent Application No. 85/01,279 (Swiss PCT Convention Application No. 00,147) and the cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,436, granted Jul. 22, 1986, further makes known specially constructed transport vehicles for transporting large and heavy wound product packages or coils and using winding cores which are adapted to fit these transport vehicles. These transport vehicles are further equipped to stack the wound product packages on top of one another into a standing or upright stack which is slightly inclined or sloping with respect to the vertical. The wound product packages or coils are supported at their circumference or periphery at the floor. Such a stack likewise requires a great deal of space or area and further necessitates the availability of a vertical support, for example a wall, against which there can be leaned the rearmost wound product package of the stack of wound product packages.